Love and Immortality
by jeremy19
Summary: When an "old soul" meets a beautiful doctor will sparks fly? Or is the man too tired of his curse to continue to keep searching for the cure for it? Rating may change later.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: This is my fist story so I welcome all reviews. Anonymous reviews are enabled so don't be afraid to review. PM me with the constructive criticism. By the way the only thing I own is the OC's. I borrowed the idea from and old Fox show "New Amsterdam"_  
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Diligo quod Immortalis**

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**First you should know that I telling this story not to gain fame or wealth rather I am telling this story so that the secret that I have held for over two millennia with finally be known. My birth name is Marcus Aelius and I was once just a common Roman soldier but a fateful battle and its aftermath would change my life forever. It was the fall of the year 9 AD and the army that I was a part of, which consisted of three legions, six cohorts of allies, and three units of cavalry, was marching through the Teutoburg forest, in western Germany, when we were suddenly and viciously attacked by a Germanic army. We were not marching in combat formation, and were interspersed with large numbers of camp-followers. As we entered the forest, we found the track narrow and muddy; a violent storm had also arisen. Varus, our general, neglected to send out advance scouting parties so we were completely surprised we they attacked. We lost a lot of good men in the initial attack but we managed to make camp that evening. As we attempted to break out in to the open country losses were heavy and as we tried to escape through another forested area, with the storm still raging overhead, our bows were useless and our shields became laden with water. This is where my story begins as I was one of those that were grievously wounded in that forest. I was attacked from behind by the barbarian and I was stabbed through the stomach and I was sure that I would never see my home just outside Neapolis again but I was in luck because as I was captured by the barbarians, a Germanic priest by the name of Emelrich took pity on me and preformed some kind of ceremony that saved my life and healed me. Only later would I realize that I was cursed with immortality. Don't get me wrong, I am glad that I survived to see home again but I have seen things that I wish I hadn't. Sure I can be hurt and my heart could stop beating but in any event I would regain consciousness. As I came to terms with my condition I was forced to uproot my life every 10 or 15 years as to not arouse suspicion. I traveled from Rome to Athens and then to Egypt. Then I escaped to Britain. Soon my life became a quest to break the curse so I tried to read everything that I could get my hands on regarding Germanic rituals. I was in luck because I found a book that contained the ritual that was performed in ancient Germanic and translated into English. As I learned more I found that the only way to break the spell or curse was to find my true love. As I fell in love with women through the centuries the story has always been the same. I would fall in love then get married but I would soon realize that I was not aging and the curse was not broken and would be forced to leave my family to protect them from the suspicion I would undoubtedly arouse. The closest I believe I ever came to breaking the curse was when I met a young woman by the name of Emma in 1834 in Virginia. She was the quintessential southern belle, a woman with grace, intelligence, and charm. Two years later we were married and a year and a half after that we were blessed with the arrival of a little girl named Ava. Then when Ava was about five I realized that I could no longer stay so I wrote a three page explaining everything. I believe she kept my secret because she thought that I was a lunatic, she was maybe the first person that I told about the curse placed on my head. After Emma I never remarried, sure I dated but never again did I marry. That brings us to the present as I sit in my office in Princeton, NJ. I am currently a professor of history at the university. I stare at the clock in my office and a realize that I only have 12 minutes until my next class began so I grabbed my lecture notes and sprinted out of my office and down the hall to make it to the lecture hall on time. As I enter the hall I am a little winded.**

"**Good Morning class." I shout to project my voice across the massive room.**

**In response I get a cascade of half asleep murmurs but I guess that's what you get when you start a class at 7 a.m. **

"**Today we are going to go over the Bubonic plague and its effects on European society." I explain.**

**In that moment I am overcome by a sudden rush of memories that I had struggled to suppress for over 600 years. Memories of the dying invade my brain, memories of the massive pyres built to cremate the dead as to keep the pestilence from spreading. This was not the first time I had been overcome by the flashbacks, the worst came when we discussed the Roman defeat at the Teutoburg forest. I force myself to regain my focus and to get through the lecture.**

"**Don't forget that your papers are due next Tuesday" I say "I expect them to be good "I joke to lighten the mood after our morbid topic as they file out the door.**

**I collapse into the chair in the room and I rub my temples in a vain attempt to banish the memories from my skull. I soon realize that I am still running the fever that I got over the weekend and I decide that it was time to get checked out. I get into my car drive to the clinic at Princeton-Plainsboro since it was nearby and I didn't have time to make an appointment with my regular doctor. As I sit in the waiting room filling out paperwork I look around and see the standard fare of hung over college students , overprotective parents, and people who made a mistake the night before and are getting an STD test. I am waiting for my name to be called into a room when I see a little girl that reminds me of the daughter I left so long ago and I force myself to look away.**

"**Marcus Shea, please come with me" A heavenly voice says.**

**I look up and see a beautiful woman with chestnut brown hair and the most hypnotizing pair of blue-green eyes I had ever seen. I stand up and follow the beautiful doctor into the open exam room. **


	2. Ad Lucem

I own nothing except the OC. Hope I get some more reviews this time.

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Ad Lucem

As I gazed upon the beautiful woman before me, I could not help but notice the features that seemed to be sculpted from the finest marble, the crystal blue-green eyes that seemed to eternal optimism. She looked to be only a half a foot shorter than my own 5'10. I was so lost in my own appraisal that I did not seem to notice that this wonderfully beautiful woman was trying to get me to follow her into the exam room.

"My name is Dr. Cameron and I will be your physician this morning." She says in her best doctor voice.

"Now Mr. Shea, what brings you to the clinic this morning?" she says with a tired tone.

"Well it seems that I noticed that I was running a moderate fever over the weekend and coupled with a vicious cough, I figured that it was better to be safe than sorry as they say." I say.

As I explain my symptoms, I could literally see the gears of her mind in motion in order to figure what kind of illness I have.

"Has the cough been productive?" she asks.

"Now that you mention it, I have been coughing up this nasty yellow stuff." I say surprised because I do not know how I missed that symptom.

She walks over to where I am sitting on the exam table and tells me to lift my shirt and as I do, I hear a slight gasp of breath coming from the gorgeous doctor. I feel her fingers gently trace over the numerous scars that I have accumulated over my extraordinary life. It seems that she has almost completely forgotten about continuing the exam because she seems to be focusing on the wound I received to that forest so long ago. Her fingers seem to light a fire on my skin wherever her fingers touch. I clear my throat and that seems to snap her out of her lackadaisical state. She immediately straightened up and proceeded to listen to my lungs while telling me to take deep breaths. After she was done, she went over to my file and wrote down a few notes. She took out her pad and wrote a prescription.

"Well it seems that you have a minor case of pneumonia, here is an antibiotic to take care of that. Now remember to take all of it, do not stop taking it just because you feel better." She pronounces holding out the prescription.

As I grab the slip of paper, even the slightest brush of fingertips was enough to send a surprising shock though my body. As looked down at her it seemed as if she had felt the same shocking sensation and when she looked up I noticed for the first time that there seemed to a lot of hurt and pain swimming in those ocean blue eyes that were locked on mine. There was a knock at the door and that interruption seemed to break the spell that had fallen over the room, she quickly left the room and I left the room wondering what in the world just happened. I quickly filled my prescription and left the clinic. As I got into my car and headed back to my office, I replayed the whole encounter with the beautiful Dr. Cameron a least three times. I sat down in my office chair and put my feet on the desk and I was once again plunged deep into my memories.

_I was walking through the forum listening to the cacophony of voices and sounds that mixed into a dull roar when I saw her, a beauty slight in build with long black hair and talking with some other people. I stood there and watched her for a brief moment before I decided to go up and introduce myself to this stunning woman. I watch the woman smile at me as I walk up to her._

"_Hello my name is Marcus Aelius, who are you." I greet her._

"_Well my name Aquilina Cincinnatus." She greets with a heavenly voice._

Remembering the first time I met my first wife is one of my most cherished memories. She was the daughter of a senator while I was just an ordinary soldier. After that initial meeting, we started to write letters to each other while she was in Rome with her father. We had to keep our letters a secret because her father had already arranged for her to marry the son of another senator with the idea of sealing a political truce. Just before her marriage was to take place, she ran away. I think she had a good reason because in her letters she said that Leontius was violent. Even though she ran away, her letters continued to come telling of her travels from Rome to Greece. Apparently, she left some evidence of our relationship behind because about two months after she left her father came to me with some of the letters I wrote.

"_What the hell are these?" He roared while throwing some pieces of paper at me._

_I looked down at the pieces of paper and read though them and I realized what they were, these were a few of the letters I wrote to Aquilina while she was in Rome. I hurriedly gathered them up and set them aside. I walked up to him, looked him in the eye, and said._

"_Those are letters I wrote to your daughter. Where did you get them?"_

"_Does it matter? All that matters is that she has endangered my position in the senate."_

"_No, I guess it does not matter where you got them. However, what does matter is that you have seriously endangered her by arranging that marriage to Leontius. Do you know how? Well let me enlighten you for a moment. You wanted her marry a violent drunk! She did not run away because of some torrid affair she had with me, she left because she despised and was disgusted by her future __husband and by the way is that all you care about, your precious senate seat. "_

"_No, of course not but I will give you an opportunity to tell me where she is. So, where is she?"_

"_Do you really think that I would know where she is? I have not received a single letter from her since she left." I quickly lie._

"_If I find out that you had knowledge of where she was, I will have you jailed and forced to fight in the arena."_

"_Well good luck senator." I say in a voice thick in sarcasm._

After the confrontation with her father, I quickly cashed in a favor with my officer and he let me have leave with the promise that my position will be ready when I got back. I grabbed my horse, I set out on a journey to find her, and I did not have to look long because shortly after I arrived in Patras I found her in the forum looking around.

"_Aquilina!" I shouted over the crowd to gain her attention._

_She looked at me and smiled one of the most dazzling smiles I had ever seen. We started to walk toward each other and when I finally pushed enough people out of my way, I reached and put my arms around her waist and said the words I had longed to write since out first meeting in the forum in Neapolis._

"_I love you Aquilina," I said in a voice thick with emotion, "and I always will."_

"_I love you too, my brave soldier." She said in that heavenly voice that held so much love and affection._

A sudden knock on my door breaks me from my dreamlike state and the janitor came in to empty the trashcan. I look at the clock and see that it is half past 6 o' clock and time for me to head home. When I get home, I eat and the get ready for bed but my thoughts were on my light, my Aquilina, and how much she changed me. For the first time in a century, I think I found my light in Dr. Cameron and believe that it is time to start moving toward it.


	3. Secundus Fortuna

I have reuploaded this chapter because I was unhappy with ending. I own nothing but the OC. Please read and review

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Secundus Fortuna

After my chance run in with Dr. Cameron at the clinic about a week ago my life returned to its relative normal pace. My illness was gone and I was once again teaching but this time it was a much happier topic in the Renaissance, the flourishing of knowledge and culture after the end of the Dark Ages.

"Now people you must remember that this period in time tends to by glossed over by the achievements of Da Vinci and others but make no mistake this was an extremely volatile time in the political history of Italy, there were any number of factions and countries all vying to become the premier power in Europe." I state. "Within the span of 65 years there were eight major wars in Italy."

As I turn to look at the clock I notice that we only have a few moments left so I quickly remind them of their projects due date and only get a few semi-awake murmurs in return as they exit the class room. I quickly gather my things and head to the office to get a few things done. As I sit in my office and begin to muse over the love I left so long ago.

_As I lie with my stunning wife, I cannot help but think that she in more beautiful than Venus herself. I use my eyes to trace lines from her sensuous hips to her lithe neck to those warm brown eyes that are currently closed in sleep. We have only been married for a few days but I can honestly say I have never been happier, not even the greatest victory can match this. I also know that her father is about ready to send the metaphorical hounds after us if we do not return to Rome soon. I have been in Greece for about a month and after we told each other how we felt we quickly left Patras and made our way to Athens in an attempt to blend in for a while. I need to think of a way to take Leontius out of the picture but because he is a senator's son it will be difficult. While I am thinking over various possibilities I notice those gorgeous brown eyes I have come to adore staring up me._

"_Why must you think so hard my dear Marcus?" she asks._

"_I think this hard because I must think of a way so that when your father hears of our marriage he will not force into the arena or outright kill me." I say seriously._

"_Well I love you so father will just have to get used to it." She states in a matter of fact tone._

"_I don't think that is how it works. I mean your father was pretty dead set on your marriage to Leontius when he came to visit me before I left." I articulate._

"_I think that we should face your father head on." I add._

_We gather our things from the sparse apartment we were currently living in and make our way to the horses and set off to face the man that wanted to take my love and his daughter away from me._

A timid knock on my door is the first sound I hear as my memories fade away. I open the door to reveal Dr. Cameron looking shyly down at her shoes.

"Um…I was wondering if could talk to you for a moment?" She inquires.

"Sure come in." I say motioning her into my small university office.

"I…um…just wanted to check up and see how you were feeling" she probes with a slight blush.

"I am good as new," I say with a knowing grin "but that is not what you came over her for is it?"

"No…um, I understand if this might seem a little nosey of me and I will totally understand if you do not want to answer the question, but where did all of those scars come from?" she asks

"Look, Dr. Cameron I like you, I do but this not a question I will answer after only meeting someone a week ago and besides even if I told you I don't think that you would believe me." I state seriously.

"Oh…I guess that's the end of that. I will show myself out." She says dejectedly. Then she turns to leave. She is almost out the door when I shout "Wait!"

"I will grant you a second chance like the one you have given me." I say. "If you want to know more about me, I want something."

"OK, what do you want?" She says crossing her arms in a defiant manner.

"A date." I declare.

"You do know that it is wrong for doctor to date their patient?"

"Well aren't you in luck because it just so happens that I am no longer your patient. So is it a date? Come on say yes, we both know that you are going too eventually" I say knowingly.

After a long silence she says, "Fine, but how did you know I would give in?"

"As Pliny the Elder said "Fortune favors the bold"."

"Now that that is settled, where are you taking me?" She asks.

"Well now that is for me to know and you to find out." I state.

"How will I know what to wear?" She inquires.

"I'll tell you what; if I am going to answer your earlier question I want to be as comfortable as possible, so why don't you dress in your best jeans and t-shirt." I say

"Ok, what time are you picking me up?" She asks.

"How about 7 p.m." I affirm.

"Ok cool." She declares

She turns and opens the door and leaves. I sit back in my chair and ponder the consequences that may come of this date but I soon realize that I don't care because for the first time in a long time I have something to look forward to. I soon realize the time and gather my things and leave. I all too soon arrive home and I deposit my things just inside the front door and make my way to the fridge to grab something to drink. After I grab the last beer, I flop down on the couch and once again get lost in my memory.

_We have been back in Rome for a few days and we are avoiding her father at all costs. I am currently pacing around our small apartment thinking of all the possible ways I can get rid of Leontius once and for all. I go through all the possible ways, but I finally settle upon poison because it has the greatest rate of success and the lowest rate of detection. I consider the options and I choose nightshade or belladonna for its high toxicity and it ease of use. Just 15 berries smashed into his wine will more than likely kill him and end Aquilea's father's obsession with her marrying Leontius._

I shake my head to keep from going any farther into that dark chapter in my marriage. I do not need to keep rehashing the less than noble deeds I have done in order to keep her from marrying Leontius. I soon fall asleep and when I wake up I look over to the clock next to me and see that it is well past 10 in the morning. I decide that the rest of my day will be spent preparing for my date with the lovely Dr. Cameron.

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Please review and give me feedback so that I can improve this story.


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